Trial is scheduled for a Pontiac felon accused of killing his then-girlfriend’s uncle and trying to kill her, who then fled to Texas where he was arrested and returned to Michigan.
Jury selection is set to start Dec. 16 in Oakland County Circuit Court for the case against Juan Ramirez, Jr., 31. Ramirez is charged with second-degree murder for the April 27 fatal stabbing of Gregory Allen Copeland, 69, and assault with intent to murder involving Copeland’s niece the same day.
Copeland was found dead in the basement of a home in the 80 block of Ivy Street in Pontiac. He’d been stabbed several times in the chest. Deputies located Copeland’s niece — who was reportedly in a relationship with Ramirez — on a carport roof at the home “in a highly emotional and agitated state,” according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Ramirez was taken into custody May 3 at a Dallas bus station by a law enforcement task force working closely with Oakland County detectives, the sheriff’s office said. He was subsequently extradited to Oakland County.
Ramirez was paroled from the Michigan Department of Corrections on Dec. 5, 2023 after serving nearly 10 years in prison for unarmed robbery and home invasion convictions in Oakland County. On Feb. 14 — more than two months before the fatal stabbing — he was placed on parole absconder status for failing to report to his parole officer and for posing “a direct threat to the health, safety and welfare of any person, household or community,” the sheriff’s office said.
His trial will be held before Judge Cheryl Mattews.
Ramirez is in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond.